Prime Defence
by Renarien
Summary: Ironhide thought the only good 'con was a dead 'con.  Well, now he's going to have to rethink that.  The dead ones aren't good either.
1. Chapter 1

**Prime Defence.**

'_Prime Defence' takes place a couple of months after the events of 'Solaris', and should be quite a bit longer. For the record, I am playing fast and loose with Bayverse and G1 – the two Transformers universes I am most familiar with, in an effort to delve deeper into things like the Cybertronian religion and experience of the Universe. There will be romance, resurrections, reunitings and, I hope, much enjoyment for everyone that reads this story. _

_And of course the obligatory disclaimer: I own nothing more than Solaris, any other OC's and the mind bending version of reality I am inflicting on those poor 'Bots._

"Do you think it's going to do anything this time?"

The question came from Dr. Karsen's assistant and was asked in a tone that was a combination of wistful hope and boredom. Dr. Karsen did not bother looking at his assistant, merely continued to check readings and connections as he replied; "We can hope so."

"And hope that exploding the world is not one of the 'anythings' that could happen."

Giving vent to an exasperated sigh Dr. Karsen straightened and glared with mild irritation at his assistant. "Brinna, we have been over this before. There is no possibility of exploding the world using the Collider. Now please, refrain from mentioning it again!"

"Yes doctor."

The mousy woman's meek comment soothed the scientist's irritation and he reminded himself she was still very young. Young enough to be excited about any result, no matter how catastrophic it may have been. For himself Dr. Karsen would have been happy with nothing happening on this particular experiment, as he was not at all convinced it was a good idea to be messing with such forces so soon after the events in Chicago and the appearance of the mysterious glittering metal world in the skies. Cosmic forces were such a fickle thing and he was old enough to want to be cautious. Unfortunately those who funded their research were not so inclined and wanted something to show for their dollar, thus they were firing up the Treaty Collider for the first time to see what would happen. Larger again than the Large Hadron Collider and theoretically far more powerful Dr. Karsen was not the only one a little wary of what would happen once they flicked the switch for the first time. As a consequence he was taking more care with the set up than he normally would.

Half an hour later and they were ready to turn the machine on. Power feeds had been checked and rechecked, computer programs were running smoothly and there were no foreseen issues to worry about. Brinna had regained her enthusiasm and Dr. Karsen along with other staff were feeling confident that they were looking at an uneventful activation.

This just goes to prove that the Universe has more than enough practical jokes to play on scientists.

Almost from the first rising hum everyone knew that something was slightly off, not right. There was no indication that they should worry, just an unusual building whine that spoke of something not put together properly. When it rose in pitch to beyond human hearing range and several glass fixtures started cracking there was some concern, but no outright panic. The sub harmonic hum that started up behind the higher sound and vibrated the whole installation was the only warning they got before a sudden inexplicable surge in power that blew fuses, computers, and all the lighting in the building. The sound from the collider rose to an unholy shriek, and then abruptly died. Literally. There was a rattling crash that told everyone there that quite a few things had fallen off.

"Oh. My. God."

Brinna's quiet exclamation brought Dr. Karsen to her side and he found she was staring at a piece of equipment that was designed to measure energy output. It was designed to measure such forces like large atomic weapons and volcanic eruptions and it was one of the more robust items they had in the installation, yet it had maxed out and broken. Dr. Karsen looked around the large room, noting the perplexed faces in the dim emergency lighting, some already looking like they were planning on fixing what went wrong and trying again. None appeared aware that there had been enough power generated in those brief moments to erase a small island nation from existence. Energy that had escaped containment, yet somehow done so without turning all of those there into primordial ooze in the process. Brinna had followed the man's thoughts closely and she quietly voiced the very question he was thinking.

"Where did it all go?"

Elsewhere in the world the air rippled and lit with cold light, and out of the strange flickering of the air came other lights, some bright and some barely visible. They clustered together, moving almost like a swarm with a single mind, darting to and fro as though seeking something, then moving away as the rippling light faded and went out. These smaller lights moved on then, slowly at first and then picking up speed. In the distance a campfire glowed faintly between the trees and this seemed to be the focus of these strange lights. In that place it was high and remote, the air thin and cold. Very few people went this way other than die-hard hikers and hunters and then there were precious few of them. The camp fire was the only source of light aside from the moon sailing high overhead.

Days later a National Park Ranger called in to the local police while standing beside a cold and dead campfire. The campfire was not the only thing cold and dead there; the charred remains of a human male lay beside the carefully constructed fireplace. The Ranger quit days later. The indigenous people of the region had a lot of legends and some dealt with figures of shadow that sucked the life and soul right out of lone travellers out in the bush at night. The Ranger decided he was not going to mock those legends any more, and he was moving to the city for a safer life. At least in the city you only had to deal with smog, muggings, assaults and the like. It was far safer than the supernatural threats that stalked the high country.

_Review please? Thanks!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is the next instalment, and I hope you all enjoy! Thanks to those who have reviewed too, they keep me encouraged and let me know people like what I do. **

Sam had to admit to considerable anxiety as Bumblebee wove through the streets of Chicago towards the area where there was the greatest fighting. If asked he knew he could not give a coherent account of why he was feeling uneasy, but a lot of it had to do with meeting up with the Autobot leader again and everything that had gone on in this place. He remembered the horrific damage Optimus had taken in the battle and could not help but remember the sight of the noble mech lying lifeless with his spark extinguished.

"He is fine, Sam," Bumblebee told him, his voice partially repaired again and only used when he felt the young man really needed straight communication, such as now.

"I know Ratchet would have repaired him Bee… but knowing it and believing it are two different things, y'know?"

And Bumblebee did know where Sam was coming from there and let his field show it, noting that Sam's vital signs settled a little as he did so. He was sure that Sam could not consciously feel the changes in his Guardian's energy field, but that did not stop the human from responding appropriately to certain things.

"I still don't understand why you wont tell me who the new 'bots are," Sam commented, trying to distract himself from more morbid thoughts. "It's been months Bee! Surely I could be told now? I've been doing the government two-step for this whole time and you won't give me even a hint! C'mon, man!"

Bumblebee's engine burbled deeper in a mechanical laugh and his whole frame vibrated. He was looking forward to the expression on Sam's face when he saw one of the 'new' Autobots. His only minor misgiving was that Sam was a little highly strung and might faint, but the potential for amusement outweighed his concern.

Gazing upwards in shock from where he had fallen to sit on Bumblebee's foot Sam gaped at the silver mech that was looking cheerfully down at him.

"Whaaa… how… but… You were dead! You got torn in half by Megatron! How the…." What came next was best left unprinted.

Optimus looked down at the stunned human and said "Jazz's spark never passed into the Well of All Sparks, instead he clung to his bonded mate in the hope that when Prowl arrived, we would be able to restore his spark to a viable form."

A black and white mech, doors held high behind him, now stepped up and spoke in a calm tenor voice that was strangely emotionless. "Jazz was quite adamant that he was not leaving me alone. I admit I calculated the odds of being able to restore his spark to a viable form to be exceedingly low, but any chance to restore Jazz logically had to be taken."

"Nothin' ta do with the fact that ya love me eh Prowler?" Jazz teased the other mech.

Prowl looked to Jazz and said "That of course did factor into my equations."

As Jazz chuckled at that response Sam looked between the two vastly different Autobots, trying to wrap his brain around it all. Ghostly glyphs danced across his vision for a second, imparting a sense of unity between the two, and he shook his head. It was damned rare these days that those remnants of the Allspark energy made themselves known. "Yeah, but HOW?" He asked. "You need energy for that and…"

He trailed off, not wanting to talk about the Matrix of Leadership out in the open with random humans walking around, some staring intently and curiously in his direction. As if in answer a lithe dark blue femme walked around Optimus' side and gazed down at him. Again the glyphs ghosted across his vision and he knew instinctively that this was another Prime. A Prime femme!

"That was my doing, "she said with a hint of a smile in her voice. "I have rather advanced solar energy collectors and can manipulate the energy with some skill."

"Yup, Solaris is the femme o' the hour," Jazz said, visor flickering in his equivalent of a wink at the femme.

So much was left unsaid there, Sam knew, but it was enough. More interesting was how close the newcomer was standing to the Autobot leader. Sam was used to the 'bots being friendly but for one to be that close to Optimus Prime was unusual. In his experience only Ironhide would get that close, and that only during dangerous situations.

"And I am very pleased to meet you, Samuel Witwicky," Solaris said, inclining her head in a rather regal gesture of greeting. "Optimus has advised me of your exploits and the services you have done our race, and I thank you."

"Uh… no problem. No sacrifice, no victory… the old family motto," Sam said, a little stunned by the formality of the femme and also a little uneasy. Her mannerisms and speech patterns reminded him of something but he could not pinpoint what. Whatever it was gave him a sense of wariness and anxiety as he looked at her though.

Sideswipe wheeled in at that moment and pulled up in front of Optimus; obviously about to make a report, but Sam was startled to hear the quiet threatening rumble that emitted from the frontliner as he looked at the blue femme. They were of a height, and Sam was used to interpreting Cybertronian body language now and noted how Sideswipe's armour was flared in aggression. For her part, Solaris, merely looked at the mech and maintained her neutral stance. A second later Sideswipe turned his head and started reporting to Optimus.

"That insubordination should not be tolerated," Prowl stated once the report was finished and Sideswipe had departed back to his position.

Optimus' plating sagged a little. "I was hoping that after Solaris had restored Jazz to us that Sideswipe would get over his prejudice. It was a task not without risk." In fact, bringing Jazz back had drained Solaris significantly, the older Prime remembered…

_The Matrix floated to Solaris as though it had yearned to be with her, and Optimus saw a corona spark into being around the femme as she took hold of the artefact and turned towards Jazz's recently repaired shell. Optimus still had his reservations about what they were to attempt here, but without Jazz Prowl would not survive, so he held tight to his fears and instead stood rock-solid beside the younger Prime. For her part Solaris raised her arms, light suddenly flaring from her and gathering around the Matrix with enough force to make all the mechs there avert their optics or shutter them. Solaris let out a fluting trill, a haunting call to one who should have been within the Well of Allsparks but somehow was not, then she plunged the Matrix down into the open and dark spark chamber beneath her._

_Jazz jerked as though hit with a surge of current, and his visor flashed blue, his systems surging into action and life, his spark once again in his frame. Optimus could not see much more as his normally undemonstrative 2IC had latched onto his silver mate and did not look like letting go. Solaris stepped back, her feet dragging, her optics dim. She was exhausted and in desperate need of recharge. Optimus barely noticed as the Matrix resettled within his frame, more interested in supporting the one who had returned Jazz to them. Solaris leaned thankfully against his strong frame, accepting the soothing pulse of his energy field against her own raw and depleted one._

"_You need recharge," the older Prime rumbled, noticing the trembling in the femme's limbs that signalled an immanent shut down. He scooped her up, his strength easily handling her weight._

"_Somewhere in the sun," she murmured; field flaring with an almost desperate need._

_His own soothed hers again. "I know. Trust in me Solaris."_

"_I do." With that she surrendered to the shut down._

"Sometimes it is easier to hang on to something you believe than it is to let it go," Solaris told them. "If it becomes necessary, I can handle him. Though I hope time will prove to him that he is wrong."

"So what's his problem?" Sam asked, looking up at the group, who all looked down at him as if they had forgotten he was there.

Optimus hesitated, but Solaris knelt down to reply to him without any reservations, trusting that the young man who had accepted them so readily would be able to see her without negative thought even once he knew what had Sideswipe so riled up. "My Creator was Sentinel Prime, Sam. Sideswipe has an issue with my presence because of this."

"Ooooh…" Sam let out a long breath, understanding now what the problem was. Now that he knew why she seemed familiar he found her presence no longer alarming. He trusted Optimus and Solaris had brought Jazz back, so she was all right in his books. "Well… that just sucks."

Above them the rich chuckle of Optimus Prime rolled out. "I should have known you would not be bothered Sam."

The human Liaison smiled up at the Autobot leader. Solaris rose from her crouch and looked at Optimus for a couple of seconds before moving off on her own tasks. Optimus offered a hand for Sam to climb up on and once standing to his full height said "We will go somewhere we may talk more freely before you advise me of the outcomes of your meetings Sam. Prowl will take over here."

"An' I'll come alone with you Prime," Jazz said. "I don't like the idea of you going places alone here. Th' Cons could have buried mines in the rubble that haven't been detected yet."

Optimus nodded his agreement to Jazz. Sam gazed between the uptight black and white and the laid back silver mech and shook his head. He would definitely have to do some catching up with Lennox and other humans soon and find out just what the story was between the two. No doubt it would prove to be interesting, whatever it was.


End file.
